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HOSPITALITY group Tullymore House has acquired the derelict former Holy Rosary church and surrounding land on Belfast's Ormeau Road and plans spending £1 million turning it into a Fratelli's restaurant.

And Tullymore, which also owns the award-winning Galgorm Resort and Spa and Fratelli group of Italian eateries, says its investment will create more than 40 full- and part-time jobs when completed, with a further 30 jobs during the construction phase.

Project manager Colin Johnston says: “We plan to regenerate this section of the Ormeau Road with a sympathetic redevelopment of the building, which has stood on the site since 1898 but which has been derelict since 1980.

“The Ormeau Road project is part of an ongoing investment programme in the hospitality sector by Tullymore House Ltd, including planned extensions to Fratelli restaurants in Galgorm in Ballymena and Belfast city centre.”

He added: “As a major employer in Belfast and Ballymena, we are committed to the development and enhancement of Northern Ireland's hospitality offering, and this project is one of a number of expansion plans for this year.”

Tullymore House recently investing more than £11 million in a redevelopment programme at Galgorm Resort and Spa. It has also developed the successful Fratelli group, with one restaurant located in the four-star Galgorm Resort, and another on Belfast's Great Victoria Street.

The company says it also has a significant investment programme planned for the Fratelli brand in 2017, totalling more than £1.5 million and creating up to 60 jobs.